Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Northern California Spotlight: The Chocolate Watchband - Are You Gonna Be There/No Way Out

Back to San Jose, California for more of our Nor Cal region of the epic Battle of the Garage Bands.

The Chocolate Watchband recorded for producer Ed Cobb between '66 and '68 down in LA. The recordings don't always feature all of the band as Cobb had a penchant for bringing in studio musicians. He even went so far as to record instrumentals with not a single member of the band in it (think Expo 2000) and even vocal songs with a different singer (think Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go!).

Are You Gonna Be There was written for the band by Cobb's friend and LA songwriter, D. Bennett (who occasionally sang lead on these records as well) and was the third, and last, single under their name (they had done a 4th under the pseudonym of The Hogs). It was released on Tower Records in October of 1967.

The Flip-Side of Are You Gonna Be There is the excellent quasi-instrumental, No Way Out. That song gets an Ed Cobb credit for composer. That said, credible claims by the band suggest they were really the composers of the song. Producers aren't always so honest, you know. The pairing of the two strong songs, the quality of the production and the quality of singer David Aguilar's voice make this one of the most desired singles out there.

Here in the UK the Yardbirds' Shape of Things came with You're a Better Man Than I. Which I think you referenced on another post. I would have to say that is the one you have to go with since they are UK natives.